


Marshmallow Peeps

by QueenOfAllCorgis



Series: A Kind of Magic [4]
Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018) Actor RPF
Genre: M/M, Supernatural AU - Freeform, el naddaha!rami, gwyllgi!gwil, light elf!ben, merman!rami, strega!joe, witch!joe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:01:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25148878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenOfAllCorgis/pseuds/QueenOfAllCorgis
Summary: A King of Magic Verse---Joe was from a long line of Stregas, witches that hailed from Italy. If only he wasn't such a terrible one.
Relationships: Rami Malek/Joe Mazzello
Series: A Kind of Magic [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1778086
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14





	Marshmallow Peeps

**Author's Note:**

> Supernatural Classifications:
> 
> Rami - El Naddaha. They are the mermaids that lived in the Nile. They would lure men into their grasp and devour them. Obviously, Rami does not do this haha.
> 
> Joe - Strega. Village witches from Italy. Joe is a bit of a terrible Strega.
> 
> Ben - Light Elf. Norse elves who were known to be beautiful and kind.
> 
> Gwil - Gwyllgi. A Welsh spirit. Also known as a black dog, a creature that would appear to others to warn of their upcoming death.
> 
> Also, the Jurassic Park birthday incident actually happened. Poor baby Joe haha!

He remembered when he got his first acting job. 

Joe had practiced  _ so hard _ for the audition, nervously bouncing on his feet as he stood in front of all those serious adults and repeated the lines he had rehearsed over and over. Then he got to meet Harrison Ford, he got to meet Indiana Jones AND Han Solo and all his friends would be so jealous. 

He saw his father sign the supernatural waivers, he saw him pay the insurance fee, and he saw him swear that Joe wasn’t going to do anything dangerous. 

But he was going to be a movie star. 

“I knew you were going to get it,” he beamed at his father, hopping from foot to foot as they walked back to the car. 

“Did you know that because of the Strega in you?” He asked, slightly awed as his father laughed. “Cause your powers?”

“No bud, it’s because you are amazing and there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that you would get it,” his father teased, ruffling his hair. 

“I bet it’s cause the powers,” Joe mumbled. “That powers that I don’t got.”

His father gave him a funny smile at that. “You’re a Strega Joe, you have something magic in you and it’ll happen. Give it time.”

And it did happen...kinda. 

Joe’s magic simmered under his skin at all times. It was there, just lingering out of reach and waiting to be tapped into. No matter how hard he focused or how much he tried to just  _ do something _ he couldn’t. 

Then, he got hit in the face by a velociraptor claw. 

It wasn’t exactly the storybook tales he was told of other Stregas and witches finally accessing their powers. 

He had been crouching in the kitchen, knuckles almost white from how hard he gripped the metal. The sound of the wheels creeped closer and he knew that the velociraptor puppet was peeking around corners, looking terribly lifelike. 

The camera was trained on him so he focused on twisting his face into an expression of pure terror. He crept forward, holding his breath and imagining the monster on the other side. He leaned forward, saw a flash, and something slammed into his face. 

The pain was so sudden and so intense that he found himself lying on the ground, blinking up at the lights. People were gasping around him and he heard a flurry of noise to his side, dragonflies suddenly whizzing by him.

“Joe! Joe! You okay?” Steven was suddenly hovering over him, brow creased with worry. 

“Yeah, I think so,” he mumbled, still staring at all the dragonflies that danced around the lights. 

“I guess...now’s as good a time as any,” and then he launched into Happy Birthday. Joe just blinked, dizzy, at the ceiling as the crew awkwardly fell in. There was a strain to the voices though and he found out why when he sat up. 

The velociraptor was partially gone. From it’s foot to almost halfway up its body was a jumble of metal and mess. Dragonflies were still crawling out of the hole, fluttering into the air.

“For fuck’s sake!” Devon, one of the puppeteers shouted as he looked at the velociraptor. “Look what he did!”

“Come on now, it’s the kid’s birthday,” Steven shot him a look but the man continued raving. 

“Fuck that! He turned a prop worth more than his fucking life into...into bugs!” Devon turned his snarl towards Joe. “You little brat, you-”

“That’s enough,” Steven snapped.

Joe just stared at the dragonflies flying around his head. He had done that? He had made that happen?

“I’m...I’m sorry,” he whispered. Steven gave him a warm smile but Devon kept grumbling under his breath. 

“This is what fucking happens when you hire freaks to be in your movies,” Devon growled.

Devon was gone the next day but it was the first time Joe ever heard someone belittle him because of his status. Suddenly, it didn’t seem so wondrous and fairy tale like. It felt a bit like a curse.

Years passed and he got better at controlling it. There was still the occasional slip where his magic went a bit haywire but he was trying. Still, it was a bit discouraging. Stregas helped people in their villages. They supported them and cured their ailments.

He turned a teapot into a raccoon when it startled him and that was a  _ whole _ other issue.

Steven called him up years later, asking if he was interested in working on a series with him. It would be hard work but it sounded like a dream. This was what would move him past being known as just a kid actor. 

He flew into Australia full of nerves. It got so bad that the straw in his coke turned into a Twizzler but he tried his best. 

The cast was wonderful. Everyone was thrilled with the show and incredibly excited, happily jabbering on with the rest of the cast during their meet and greet happy hour. Steven walked over, arm wrapped around the shoulders of a young man.

“Boys, this is Rami,” he introduced him and Rami gave them all a bright smile. “He’ll be playing Snafu, I expect you’ll share your drinks with him?”

There were some teasing words but they shifted around and Rami took a seat next to Joe. 

“You were in that...what was it? The museum movie, right?” One of the boys asked and Rami laughed, accepting a beer gratefully. “Where you were the king or something?”

“I was Pharaoh Ahkmenrah, fourth king of the fourth king,” he put on a high and mighty accent, pulling his shoulders back and lifting his chin. Then he relaxed and shrugged. “It was fun though, a kick ass opportunity to work with some great people. Plus, I think I’m like one of the only Egyptians to be cast as an Egyptian character.”

“You’re Egyptian?” Joe asked. Blue-green eyes turned to meet his and he felt a swoop deep in his gut. He had never seen eyes like that before.

“Yeah man, my parents immigrated,” the way he talked sounded like honey. It was slow and smooth and rich and Joe just wanted to hear him talk forever. 

“Well, you’re not the only big movie star. Joey here was in Jurassic Park, you know that  _ adorable _ little kid?” Someone else teased and Joe felt his smile freeze a bit. It wasn’t that he wasn’t proud of Jurassic Park, it was just hard to find serious roles when you were only known as being...adorable.

“That was you?” Rami raised his eyebrows. “Hell, if you were that good then imagine how incredibly good you are now.”

And that was the start of that.

The crush was little and silly, making him fall into a blushing giggling mess. Still, he was a professional and he tried his best to push aside his feelings. The filming schedule was grueling enough that he hardly had time to obsess over a stupid crush.

Perhaps he should have been taking better care of himself. He was exhausted, stressed, overwhelmed and thrown into a scene where he had to storm a beach. The gun felt too heavy in his hands as Joe slammed into the sand, coughing a bit as explosions erupted around him and people fell with screams and groans. 

Out of the corner of his eye Joe caught sight of Rami struggling through the sand, shoving his helmet up. They made it a few feet down the beach before one of the explosions blasted sand all over Joe. In his surprise, he squeezed his gun a bit too hard and felt it squish under his fingers. 

“Oh shit, what the fuck?” He snarled under his breath, his gun turning into marshmallow peeps right in his hands. “Fuck!”

“Cut!” Steven called and Joe prayed that no one could see how red his face was. “Reset and...get the peeps off the beach and get Joe a new gun.”

No one said anything but he could feel Rami’s eyes boring into his back. It took a few more shots but they managed to get it without any more colorful marshmallows. As soon as Steven announced they were done Joe practically sprinted to his trailer, barely taking time to give his prop to the prop manager. 

“Hey Joe!” There was Rami’s honey slow voice and his stomach dropped. He ignored him, hoping that he could just lock himself away and stew in his embarrassment. Unfortunately, Rami was right on his heels and stopped the door before it closed. “Wait, let’s-”

“Really not in the mood to chat Rami,” Joe mumbled, frowning when Rami continued to hold the door. 

“I’m a supernatural too,” Rami blurted and gave him a small, shy smile. 

“Oh...”

“Yeah...can I come in?” Joe nodded dumbly and opened the door to let in the other man, following him as he sat on the couch, boot tapping nervously on the floor. 

“I’m an El Naddaha,” Rami tapped his fingers on his leg. “It’s a...I guess you can say mermaid but that’s not...anyway, it’s a type of water creature that is from the Nile. There’s all the classic luring men into their evil little claws but I can promise you I have never lured anyone to their doom.”

The little crooked smile he gave Joe made his heart flip again. 

“You don’t have a tail,” Joe raised his eyebrows and Rami huffed. 

“I’m not in water, am I?” 

Joe couldn’t help but smile at that. “I suppose not.”

“Alright, your turn,” Rami looked him up and down. “Because I can’t for the life of me think of anything that turns fake weapons into Easter treats.”

“Ugh,” Joe slumped in his chair and covered his face with his hands. “I promise that wasn’t intentional.”

“I should hope not.”

“I’m a Strega. It’s the Italian version of witch. Usually they have much better control over their magic than I do,” he let out a little humorless laugh. “But if I get startled or..nervous or whatever I can...over react.”

Rami laughed at that but it wasn’t cruel or mocking. In moments Joe found himself laughing as well, laughing until he had tears in his eyes and had to lean against Rami for support. 

After that they were inseparable. Every lunch was spent in one of their trailers, watching TV or playing video games. Every miserable, hot scene they had to film was made tolerable by the other being there. 

And then there was a day that was just horrendous.

It was outrageously hot and humid, leaving them drenched in sweat the moment they walked outside. The sun was relentless and the heat felt almost like a physical presence, crushing them under its weight. 

They were all struggling in their heavy uniforms but Rami looked especially rough. Joe noticed how his eyes had a bit of a glassy sheen to them, his skin waxy looking. He reacted a bit slower to questions directed at him and Joe’s heart fell when he stumbled the first time.

“Rams? You okay?”

Steven was by their side in a moment, frown on his face. “I think you need to take a break kiddo. I’ll have someone go run a bath. Rehydrate yourself.”

“Oh...no, I’m...I’m fine,” he slurred a bit and Steven shook his head. 

“We’ll all take a break but you need to take care of yourself,” it just showed how far gone Rami was when he didn’t argue, just turned to trudge across the field to his trailer. Steven mumbled into his walkie and then turned back to his notes. 

“He okay?” Joe asked worriedly. 

“Yeah, he’s okay. His kind just...not good in the heat you know?” Steven shrugged but his nonchalant attitude just made Joe more worried. 

When a break was announced he hurried to Rami’s trailer, rapping his knuckles on the door before walking in. He had thought that the other man would be lying on his too small couch, sipping at a bottle of water. Instead...there wasn’t anyone there.

“Rami?” He called out.

“In here,” the voice came from the bathroom. He didn’t even think of what could possibly be on the other side before he bursted through.

Rami looked equally surprised, mouth hanging open like...like a fish...no that was crass. He was sitting in the middle of a large tub, mostly submerged in the water except for his bare chest and his...tail?

The tail that emerged from the water didn’t look anything like the mermaids in storybooks. It was the same blue-green color as his eyes and the fins were a soft flowing white, looking like the beta fish he used to have in his childhood bedroom. 

“Why the fuck don’t I have a tub like this?” Joe blurted out and got a relieved laugh. 

“Because you don’t shrivel up like a raisin when you lose water,” Rami leaned back against the tub, tail flicking a bit. Joe could see the same flowing fins drifting up his side and lining his arms. “And you don’t have to turn into a fish to get that water back.”

“I feel bad for every time I’ve eaten fish sticks,” Rami stuck his tongue out in response. 

By the time they were at the premier party Joe had to admit he was in love with his costar. How could he not be? Their time together had been everything to Joe and he didn’t know what he was going to do when they finished filming. 

So, he tried to make the last time worth it. He drank every fruity Mai Tai or Pina Colada thrust into his hands. The lei around his neck was sweet smelling and he was still on a bit of a high from all the praise he was receiving. 

“Hey superstar,” Rami sat down next to him, grinning. He had managed to find a couch a bit away from the crowd, needing a small break from the insanity that followed premiers. 

“Hey yourself,” Joe drained the rest of his too sweet Pina Colada. “I’m going to hate myself in the morning for these but...damn it all, they are tasty.”

“I ate like...seven cupcakes so no judgement here,” Rami rolled his shoulders. “Have any plans coming up?”

“I’ve been talking to some folks about a movie,” Joe shrugged. “Who the hell knows? It’s about facebook or something.”

“That sounds promising! I think Tom might help me out with a role in his new rom com,” Rami made a slight face but grinned anyway. “And the director of the next Twilight movie reached out to me.”

“No shit,” Joe laughed loudly. 

“Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do to make it in this business,” Rami leaned back. “I hope we can work together again.”

“That would be fun,” Joe knew his smile was too big, too cheesy but he couldn’t fight the butterflies in his stomach. In the dim lights Rami’s eyes practically glowed and his hair looked perfectly soft.

He didn’t even know he was leaning in to kiss him until their lips met. 

For a sweet, beautiful moment it was just the two of them. Rami’s lips were soft and warm under his, parting lightly in surprise. A shiver rushed through Joe, the magic in him feeling like fireworks under his skin.

It was perfect.

Then it wasn’t.

They both were rudely broken apart by the couch vanishing underneath them. Joe wasn’t proud of the squeak he let out when they tumbled off of the large inflatable killer whale the couch had turned into. 

The realization of what had just happened washed over Joe like ice water, chilling him to the bone. He gasped and staggered to his feet, unable to even look at Rami who still stared at him in shock. 

“I...I...” and then he ran. 

He made up some lie about how he wasn’t feeling well, went home and hid under his covers for days. He ignored every phone call from Rami and eventually the phone calls stopped coming. It was fine, he was a mess of a Strega and he had to accept it.

Years went by.

He was in a few movies and he watched as Rami really made a foothold for himself in Mr. Robot.

It was fine, he could pine from a distance and eat ice cream out of the carton like a normal person. 

Then there was a phone call that changed everything. “Hey Joe, they want you to play John Deacon in a biopic of Queen.”

Queen?

Queen!

One of the first bands to have supernaturals and they wanted him to play the badass dragon bassist? It was a dream come true! He could barely contain himself as he eagerly agreed to come in for an audition. 

“It’ll be great! You know, Rami Malek is playing Freddie Mercury,” his agent continued and his heart stopped. “He asked for you specifically.”

What was he supposed to do? Say no to the chance of a lifetime just because he had shared an awkward drunken kiss with a costar? He couldn’t.

Joe got the job and spent weeks stressing. 

He studied old footage of Queen, in awe of how amazing the band really was. Freddie was a force of nature, shadows and smoke following him with ease but his attention was really stolen by John. He watched the shy, nervous man transform into the picture of confidence, neck scales on full view with shorter haircuts and smoke rising from his fingertips. 

And then he came to a realization. Freddie and John had been a couple. It really was a romantic story, John fighting for Freddie when he was in the grips of something evil. Would he be able to copy those same longing glances to Rami without remembering the squeak of the inflatable pool toy under them.

What a nightmare. 

He traveled to England when filming started. The producer had set up a meet and greet in a hotel bar, wanting them all to strike up a relationship. After all, it was the bond that made Queen so strong. 

Due to his nerves, Joe was the first one to show up. He downed a beer quickly, hoping that it would stop the twisting feeling in his gut. 

Gwil was next, a tall man with a bright smile. He shook Joe’s hand enthusiastically, clearly thrilled to be a part of the movie. He rambled on and on, talking a mile a minute about the guitar lessons he had been doing and the recordings he had studied. 

“Plus, it’s going to be strange playing a human you know? Normally, I only get cast as my kind and there isn’t a ton there,” he rolled his eyes. “I’m a Gwyllgi by the way.”

“A what?”

“Black dog,” Gwil shrugged his shoulder. “You know, those monstrous apparitions that foretell the death of all who see it. Don’t worry, I don’t think you’re going to die.”

“Well, that’s good to know,” Joe laughed. “I’m a Strega, a kind of witch.”

“Oh really,” Gwil’s eyes lit up. “So you can cast spells?”

“Mostly my nervous ticks just make stupid things happen. I’m not very good at it,” he chuckled. 

Then Ben showed up. He was a kind young man with a shy smile and a wicked sense of humor. There was no beating around the bush as he introduced himself as a light elf, motioning to his pointed ears as proof. His fair features and stunning eyes were perfectly suited for the beautiful incubus he was going to play.

“And there’s our Freddie!” Gwil sang out and Joe nearly choked on his drink.

Rami looked good. He looked  _ really _ good. 

In the years since the last time he had seen Rami he had changed a bit. His face was a bit sharper, more angular, but his eyes were just as bright. He had a wide smile on his face as he shook the hands of both Gwil and Ben, then he turned to Joe. 

“So, we-”

“I need to go to the bathroom!” Joe announced, standing up quickly and half running to the restrooms. He spent a few minutes, half panicking and half planning to escape out the window. Finally, he managed to take a few breaths and walked out. 

Unfortunately, Rami was waiting for him just outside by the bar.

“Got you a drink,” Rami handed him something colorful. “It’s got vodka, rum, chambord, triple sec, cranberry juice...orange juice and seven up I think. They called it a Killer Whale.”

“Ha ha,” Joe put every ounce of sarcasm into his voice, glaring at a smiling Rami. 

“I think we should talk.”

Joe took the drink, he wasn’t dumb enough to refuse a free drink thank you very much. “Is that why you recommended me for the job? To corner me and talk?”

“Well, you were ignoring my calls,” Rami leaned against the wall. “And no, I recommended you because you would be absolutely amazing as John Deacon.”

“I’m halfway through the drink,” Joe felt his cheeks burn a bit. He knew in this situation he should be begging for forgiveness and taking responsibility but...he was happy to let Rami take the lead. 

“Alright, I was a bit pissed that you just kissed me and ran off,” Joe swallowed thickly, staring down at the floor. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. “Mainly because you never even gave me an opportunity to kiss back.”

“Wait, what?”

“Christ Joe, I had the biggest crush on you,” now Rami’s cheeks were pink. “Like, high school level crush. I didn’t think you felt the same way and was a bit overwhelmed when you kissed me. Then the whole...pool float thing and that was...interesting. I tried to tell you but you wouldn’t even talk to me.”

“You’re telling me you liked me?”

“Yeah, like a lot,” Rami gave him a shy smile.

“And I waited for like a decade to talk to you?” he huffed out a laugh. “What a fucking dumbass I am.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything but yeah, a bit,” Rami scooted a bit closer. “So, can we...go back?”

“To when?”

“To that night? Do it proper?” Rami had such a beautiful smile on his face that Joe couldn’t help but lean forward and kiss him. It felt exactly like it did before, fireworks and sparks and all that rom com nonsense. 

It was perfect.

Then the glass in Joe’s hand vanished and their feet were covered in sticky liquid. Both of them broke apart, stared down for a moment and laughed. 

“It’s fine, we’ll just practice until you don’t cause anymore chaos,” Rami teased, leaning in for another kiss. 


End file.
